Louisville Metro cannot set its own minimum wage. The Kentucky Supreme Court struck down Louisville's 2014 ordinance in Kentucky Restaurant Ass'n v. Louisville-Jefferson Cty. Metro Gov't, 501 S.W.3d 425 (Ky. 2016), holding KRS Ch. 337 preempts the field. Kentucky's state minimum wage is $7.25/hour, matching federal FLSA. Tipped wage: $2.13/hour cash + tips.
Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Council passed Ordinance No. 213-2014 in December 2014, raising the local minimum wage in phases to $9.00/hour by July 2017. The Kentucky Supreme Court invalidated the ordinance in October 2016 in Kentucky Restaurant Ass'n v. Louisville-Jefferson Cty. Metro Gov't, 501 S.W.3d 425 (Ky. 2016), holding that KRS Chapter 337 (the Kentucky Wages and Hours Act) preempts the field of minimum wage regulation, leaving no room for local enactment. KRS § 337.275 sets the state minimum at $7.25/hour, identical to federal FLSA. Lexington's similar 2015 ordinance was struck down on the same grounds. Louisville Metro pays its own employees a higher wage by Mayor's policy but cannot impose that floor on private employers. The Kentucky Labor Cabinet administers state wage rules; U.S. DOL enforces FLSA in parallel.
Kentucky wage claims under KRS § 337.385 allow recovery of unpaid wages plus equal liquidated damages, attorney's fees, and costs. Statute of limitations is 5 years (longer than FLSA's 2-3 years). Civil penalties up to $1,000 per offense available to the Kentucky Labor Cabinet under KRS § 337.990. Federal FLSA remedies apply concurrently.
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